Guyana’s ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP)/Civic alliance was returned to office in the general election held on March 19, 2001. The victory gave the alliance’s leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, another five-year term as president and head of state. PPP/Civic, which took 209,031 of the 393,709 votes cast, secured 34 of the nation’s 65 parliamentary seats. The opposition People’s National Congress (PNC)/Reform Party won 164,074 votes and claimed 27 seats.

Sporadic violence and looting followed the announcement of the election results, and a 43-year-old woman lost her life after being shot by an unknown gunman. PNC/Reform filed a motion to prevent Jagdeo from taking office, but this was dismissed by the High Court. In an effort to prevent further violence, Jagdeo and PNC/Reform leader Desmond Hoyte met in April and several times thereafter. They agreed to the formation of six joint committees to deal with contentious issues, including local government reform and the distribution of public land and housing.

Guyana’s long-standing border row with Venezuela—an issue both sides had previously relegated to the back burner—suddenly came alive in July when Venezuela’s foreign minister visited the disputed Essequibo region and denounced the 1899 treaty that ceded it to Guyana, then a British colony. It was the first visit by a Venezuelan government minister to the border area in almost 20 years. That same month heads of government from Caribbean Community and Common Market countries had reiterated support for Guyana’s “sovereignty” and “territorial integrity.”